LINZ PICKS 11/8/2011

Hey everyone. I think I am going to start sharing the music that I'm liking and listening to with my friends.

I'm calling it Linz Picks!

This week's Linz Picks are:

WILLIAM MCDOWELL'S "ARISE"

It's a potent CD that many Gospel and Worship music fans will use as an anthem for Kingdom declarations, breakthrough atmosphere creation and encouragement. I really love William's heart for God and His church. This is reflected in the project and if you buy it you'll get more than your money's worth! You'll also hear William singing and preaching like most have never heard on his Cd's. WARNING: If you are spiritually sensitive, don't worship and drive!

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/arise-the-live-worship-experience/id470661549

BRIAN COURTNEY WILSON'S "SO PROUD"

When I first heard this song, it was a demo. I immediately thought "He got it right. This song is gonna work." Brian later sat down at my house and sang it from the piano and I knew we had a hit on our hands. When we started the production process I wanted to keep it simple and leave space for the melody to shine. So, with Brian being a native Chicagoan, I wanted to make sure his hometown was able to "Chicago Step" to it. Great lyrical content, and the lead vocal performance is award material.
The background vocals by Houston's Gene Moore and Tiffany Brown are perfectly layered between Brian and the track.
I hope people help support this song. It's a refreshing addition to the industry.

Check it out on You Tube for now:
http://youtu.be/UHqvQNPwhJE

Justin Bieber "Fa La La" feat. Boyz II Men:

First off, let me say I'm no Justin Bieber fan. I respect his music and I think he's super talented, but I'm almost 40! Enough said.
BUT - I went to itunes and saw his Christmas CD on the wall so I checked it out. I immediately noticed that his voice had changed quite a bit. His tone was the same but his range was lower. He still has his dexterity and pop vocal abilities but he sounds like a young man, not a little kid. This was nice to hear.
The second thing I noticed was the features...Busta Rhymes, Usher, Boys II Men.
Then I noticed the level of production...AWESOME. As soon as I pressed play, my house got happy. When all my little Beliebers calmed down I went to the Boyz II Men song (plus the a Capella version) and that became my fav. You'll love it! Its worth the money.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/under-mistletoe-deluxe-edition/id474930087

More Notable Miracles before 2011 Ends

Last night we had some friends over for fun and costuming and (as is possible whenever kids are running around), Blake was accidentally hurt. I encourage my kids to show emotion and not be afraid to cry, but I also ask them are they crying because it hurts or because they are scared. If its fear, I let them to cry for a few but also encourage them to suck it up.
But this was far more serious. I could see it was out of place and He couldn't move it but more importantly no one could touch his arm without him screaming out.
We rushed him to the ER and the doctor examined him and said "its broken". I sat in the room for a few minutes and was preparing myself for a long 6 weeks with a cast.
But earlier that day I met a great speaker that I have enjoyed listening to named Joseph Prince. He shared his personal testimony about how he received the love of God in his heart and it released a grace for healing for his daughter. I accepted that testimony into my spirit and acted on it:
First The Dr came in and said "his arm is brokDen".
They left to set up X-rays and I took that testimony to heart.
I purposefully and calmly laid hands on my son and said "God, I receive your love for Blake. Heal his arm now, take the pain away and let him be healed even before they put a cast on him." We walked into the X-ray room and by the time he left the ROOM, he was lifting his arm and moving it all around. He said it doesn't hurt. The Dr said "Wow I didn't expect this! X-rays are normal."
He was totally healed with absolutely no pain and was back to normal. I asked him "Who fixed your arm Blake?" and he replied "Jesus did!"

We were home in thirty minutes and put on some "shouting music" that I keep on my phone for certain praise breaks! We danced and laughed and watched as Blake went right back to being his old rambunctious self.

God Loves Us So.

Andy Griffith and Dad

I remember sitting with my father when I was a little boy watching The Andy Griffith Show at 6pm. Dad got off work at 5pm from Ohio Edison Company and he pulled up in the driveway like clockwork at 5:20. Why do I remember that? Because that's when us kids had to have our "act together" so he could walk into a peaceful house.
My dad loved the Andy Griffith Show and I enjoyed watching him laugh. I didn't understand why Barney Fife made my dad yell out in laughter, or why Andy's "country dumb" wisdom was so appealing. But I loved sitting there trying to figure out what made dad so happy.  

Well, tonight for the first time ever, I sat on my sofa with Lil Aaron and Blake and they watched me laugh out loud at Deputy Barney Fife, and marvel at Sheriff Andy's simple wisdom.  It hit me that I was now the dad and they were watching me.  So, I called my poppa and told him the story....he finally explained why he loved the show. "Son" he said " They always solved their problems in 30 minutes before the show went off.  That made me feel good."

Funny how the tables of life turn and you find yourself walking in shoes that at one point were much too big.

Great Night.

Just Shift It Out 6 Feet.

Anyone that has been to my house knows that I love to entertain guests. I love having parties, dinners, football gatherings, and WWE night with my sons. However when the people are gone, my favorite thing to do at home is be outside on my patio with some music playing and the wind blowing thru my trees with the fire pit roaring.

My perfect day is waking up at 7am, walking outside, putting on some soft music and doing my devotional time with the Lord in nature. The crisp cool air and the absence of a phone ringing or text messages chiming is so divinely peaceful. Followed by a nice pancake and eggs breakfast outside, with a steamy cup of JAVA (no cream with 2 turbinado). Then I'd go inside to dress my kids and send them off to school, walking into my home project studio and writing/tracking music. Finally ending my day (after family time and other duties) with an evening outside watching the sunset. That would be my ideal day.....that rarely happens!!!!

However a few days ago my wife and I had the notion to scoot our furniture further out toward the trees a small distance, not even ten feet. This made for a few interesting observations.
1. I was further away from the house which made me feel more out into nature.
2. It sounded different because the echo of the ambiance was not there from the walls and ceiling of the patio.
3. The breeze was more pronounced because there were no walls blocking it.
4. The sun was more direct in the day because there was no covering.
5. The Ceiling fan no longer provided a manufactured breeze.

Each of these things (if you are a preacher) are some serious points that could be exhausted and catalyzed until people start running up and down the aisle. Those are good points but, none stack up to this one:

6. Every morning, these seats are covered in dew.
These same chairs that never saw moisture are daily covered in dew. While my zip code is in a drought and there is threat of wildfires, there is now dew on every single seat. We haven't had rain for months but my seats, which were never wet, are soaking wet every morning.
No water hose, no sprinkler spray, no mischief.

Dew.

I wonder how many areas of my personal life would find the necessary moisture if I had the boldness to shift it 6 feet (figuratively) toward the God of Nature. His desire for me is to trust him in the midst of recession, failure, trials and crisis, but often I am so comfortable by the house, away from the heat of the Sun, with manufactured breezes and frankly satisfied with the echo that I won't move into position to experience the refreshing of the dew.

What areas of our lives can we shift closer to God, so he can shed light on them, speak to them, blow on them, and then refresh?

Decisions - Decisions

I am up early this morning, flying home from a great week of fellowship, learning and working. It was a great trip, and I hope the thrust is just what I need to get my momentum going.

I finally fell asleep at 1am, after packing, watching HLN, CNN and any other show that would catch my attention as I surfed the television of my room at the Westin. I knew I had to be up at 5am....but.....SURF ON!

I finally got the message from my brain to "kill the beast", so I pushed the red power button and that was that. All of a sudden I have this urge to google lobster cooking. Before I put my iPhone down, I jump over to YouTube to see if there is an example of how to cook a lobster. There are hundreds of clips on how to cook a lobster....and I begin to watch them one by one. "Maine Lobster, Boston Lobster, Huge Lobster, Lobster fighting, Dog playing with a Lobster, 20 pound lobster" Aaron GO TO SLEEP!

Finally I'm off to sleep. Four hours later, ALARM BLARING! Now I'm frustrated because I didn't sleep enough. I watched lobster videos for 30 minutes. I watched mindless TV for an hour. I tweeted for an hour prior!

Decisions Decisions...bad ones.

Each of us are a product of our decisions. What you choose determines what you do, where you go, what you say, and who you are.

Finally I'm at the airport, barely alive. I arrive at the TSA "Elite Check-In" line because I'm a frequent flyer. I finally found a break in the line and got to the table. After I took out my electronics, and liquids, belt, shoes, emptied my pockets and put the fake smile on, I saw something cool. There was a TSA agent that actually let a lady cut in line because (I perceived) she was running late. It had been years since I had seen a voluntary act of kindness from the TSA. This act of kindness impressed me to the point that I wanted to say thank you to the agent. Just as I was about to thank her for being so conscientious to the late passenger, she looked at me really mean and said in the most stereotypical Atlanta TSA way..."Don't leave yo stuff til it go thew!" Yes, the lady with the US seal on her shoulder said the word THEW!

Wait a minute...flag on the play! Black on Black Crime! Hold it sistah... and in a flash, my mind went through about 4 or 5 responses that came before I knew it. I'll spare you the first 3 because they would not be good for my reputation, but the last two went something like this: "I can understand why you have such a bad attitude. If I had that face I'd be mad too", followed immediately by "Ma'am I'm traveling First Class, and I'm a frequent flyer. Do I look like I need a TSA lesson from you? I'm in the airport more than you are, and you work here" BUT....Would I choose door #1 - "Get her" because she was giving me an attitude? Or would I choose door #2 - Continue on with my compliment and take the risk of her slapping my other cheek?

Decisions Decisions-

I chose door #2.

I held my tongue and watched my things go "thew". With the same mean tone she "randomly" chose me to go through the new 'hi tech' body imaging thing that I HATE! (*SLAP)

I stuck to my decision and before I went into the machine I said "Ma'am, I want to thank you for being nice to the little lady that was running late", to which she looked at me and said "She wasn't late" (*SLAP). So I said, "Well it was still a treat to know that there are some nice TSA agents out here, and I'm thanking you for the act of kindness, even if she didn't need it".

She looked at me and smiled and said in a voice that sounded like a high pitched cheerleader "I'm nice! We can be nice!"

What?...She caved? Smiles, kindness and friendly posture?

I won! She looked at the scanner and said, "Never mind, you can go 'thew' the other one, have a nice day". What happened?

I made a decision and stuck with it in spite of the opposition, and found favor. Sure it was a small thing, but it was huge to me at 5AM! Sometimes we decide to retaliate in an effort to vindicate ourselves or receive justice. It takes too much effort and negative energy to do so, and it never releases favor. Even if we win, it took our own efforts to win.

Conversely, if we decide to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly in spite of the opposition, then and only then is our victory God's responsibility. And He always wins! I've never seen a righteous man forsaken...and I never will.

Decisions, decisions. Today I made the right one.

Prayerfully as time goes on, my wins will outweigh my losses.

As for today, I win!